deferential
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In habeas doctrine, the danger has always been that federal review becomes so deferential that even substantial constitutional claims are transformed into sterile questions of state-court reasonableness.
From Slate • Apr. 10, 2026
Administrators are typically deferential to their own superiors, with whom they often identify.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026
Until the 1960s, most broadcasting was dry and deferential.
From BBC • Mar. 7, 2026
"He was intensely serious but showed flashes of humour. He encouraged debate although his officers were deferential," Pike wrote in a 2019 book.
From Barron's • Jan. 12, 2026
The southerners, by contrast, were downright deferential in normal circumstances, stepping aside with more than nine feet to go.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
Vocabulary lists containing deferential
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